When you’re worried about getting sick, it’s natural to bring out the big guns, like bleach or rubbing alcohol. Both of these products are effective at disinfecting your surfaces, but did you know there’s a counter-intuitive rule of thumb to follow when you clean with alcohol? It has to do with the percentage of alcohol by volume.

You would think alcohol solutions with a higher percentage would be more powerful at killing germs on your high-touch items like phones and doorknobs, right? A lower percent-alcohol means there’s more water diluting the mix in the bottle. But according to microbiology, 70 percent alcohol is probably more effective than 91 percent for disinfecting—depending on what kind of germs you’re trying to kill.

Here’s why a lower-percentage alcohol might be a better weapon against germs:

According to Dr. Elizabeth Scott, professor of microbiology at Simmons Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community at Simmons University in Boston, higher-percentage alcohols are more concentrated. That means lower percentages, like 70 percent, have more water in them. Turns out, the water is actually an important ingredient here.

Basically, a 90 or 91 percent alcohol solution is too powerful in some cases: It fries the outside of the cell before it can get into the inside and kill the actual germ. 70 percent alcohol is just the right proportion of water and alcohol to zap the entire cell.

“Seventy percent alcohol has some water in it that allows it to cross a cell membrane, to really get into the bacteria to kill them,” Scott says.

Interestingly, Scott explains this rule of thumb only applies when you’re attempting to fend off bacteria. Alcohol’s effectiveness against viruses depends on the unique virus. Viruses with an envelope structure—including the flu virus, the common cold, HIV, and the new coronavirus—can be can be deactivated by alcohol solutions (like hand sanitizer) of 60 percent or more, while others like norovirus won’t be effectively targeted by any concentration of alcohol. (Hand-washing helps to physically remove every type or virus and bacteria from your hands, and is an important part of any hygiene routine.)

Practically, how does this rule-of-thumb apply to home hygiene? If you’re cutting raw chicken on the counter and want to effectively disinfect the surface to prevent cross-contamination of E. coli and salmonella bacteria, you’d want to opt for 70 percent alcohol. But if you’re trying to disinfect a surface that might have viruses lingering on it—for example, if someone in your house has the flu—any dilution of alcohol will work as long as it’s above the recommended 60 percent.

In any case, it’s important to focus on hygiene practices like thorough hand washing (20 seconds of scrubbing each time!) and targeted hygiene (regularly disinfecting high-traffic hand-contact areas in your home, especially if someone sick has touched them). Stay healthy!

And iso (rubbing alcohol), as the pic above is better (less corrosive) than ethylic alcohol for surfaces...

When you’re worried about getting sick, it’s natural to bring out the big guns, like bleach or rubbing alcohol. Both of these products are effective at disinfecting your surfaces, but did you know there’s a counter-intuitive rule of thumb to follow when you clean with alcohol? It has to do with the percentage of alcohol by volume.

You would think alcohol solutions with a higher percentage would be more powerful at killing germs on your high-touch items like phones and doorknobs, right? A lower percent-alcohol means there’s more water diluting the mix in the bottle. But according to microbiology, 70 percent alcohol is probably more effective than 91 percent for disinfecting—depending on what kind of germs you’re trying to kill.

Here’s why a lower-percentage alcohol might be a better weapon against germs:

According to Dr. Elizabeth Scott, professor of microbiology at Simmons Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community at Simmons University in Boston, higher-percentage alcohols are more concentrated. That means lower percentages, like 70 percent, have more water in them. Turns out, the water is actually an important ingredient here.

Basically, a 90 or 91 percent alcohol solution is too powerful in some cases: It fries the outside of the cell before it can get into the inside and kill the actual germ. 70 percent alcohol is just the right proportion of water and alcohol to zap the entire cell.

“Seventy percent alcohol has some water in it that allows it to cross a cell membrane, to really get into the bacteria to kill them,” Scott says.

Interestingly, Scott explains this rule of thumb only applies when you’re attempting to fend off bacteria. Alcohol’s effectiveness against viruses depends on the unique virus. Viruses with an envelope structure—including the flu virus, the common cold, HIV, and the new coronavirus—can be can be deactivated by alcohol solutions (like hand sanitizer) of 60 percent or more, while others like norovirus won’t be effectively targeted by any concentration of alcohol. (Hand-washing helps to physically remove every type or virus and bacteria from your hands, and is an important part of any hygiene routine.)

Practically, how does this rule-of-thumb apply to home hygiene? If you’re cutting raw chicken on the counter and want to effectively disinfect the surface to prevent cross-contamination of E. coli and salmonella bacteria, you’d want to opt for 70 percent alcohol. But if you’re trying to disinfect a surface that might have viruses lingering on it—for example, if someone in your house has the flu—any dilution of alcohol will work as long as it’s above the recommended 60 percent.

In any case, it’s important to focus on hygiene practices like thorough hand washing (20 seconds of scrubbing each time!) and targeted hygiene (regularly disinfecting high-traffic hand-contact areas in your home, especially if someone sick has touched them). Stay healthy!

And iso (rubbing alcohol), as the pic above is better (less corrosive) than ethylic alcohol for surfaces...

isopropyl alcohol is a restricted chemical in NZ.....

_________________hey punk where you going with that golf club in your hand, again.....

One of the lesser known fun-facts about Leo Sayer is that he once recorded a song titled ‘Passion’ and the backing singers were Mark Knopfler, Van Morrison and Frank Zappa.

The song ‘Passion’ was relegated to a 1986 b-side to the single ‘Solo’ and never made it to a Leo Sayer album.

Speaking on Saturday Night with Dr Sally Cockburn on 3AW, 2GB, 4BC and 2CC Leo told the story. “I went to AIR Studios in Oxford Street,” he said. “Mark Knopfler was recording in the next room and Frank Zappa was recording in the next room to that. I took over Studio One, the big studio. They couldn’t even get in. I had all these musicians and singers.

“Every five minutes Frank Zappa would wander in and ask “what are you recording” and then the next moment Van Morrison would walk in and then Mark Knopfler and they all used to just sit around the studio.

“The backing vocals are all those guys which was just one of those peculiar things that happened. I was burning money in there but I decided to do the track. There was a great guitarist, Big Al Hodge. He was a very underrated British guitarist who worked with me and Tina Turner. He was with me for about 10 years. It is a fantastic track. I only just remembered it recently. I hope you like it”.

Listen to the full interview with Leo Sayer (and hear the Passion story at 28 minutes 45 seconds)

Leo is working on his autobiography the ‘The Adventures of Leo Sayer: Just A Boy’. He’ll tell this story and more when book is published.

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